India’s navy has launched a submarine, a destroyer and a frigate, underlining the importance of protecting its crucial Indian Ocean trade route amid a strong Chinese presence.
The move came as Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said the Atlantic Ocean’s importance has shifted to the Indian Ocean region, which is becoming a centre of international power rivalry.
Some 95% of India’s trade flows through this region.
“India is giving the biggest importance to making its navy powerful to protect its interests,” Mr Singh said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said while commissioning the vessels at the state-run Mazagon dockyard in Mumbai: “The commissioning of three major naval combatants marks a significant leap forward in realising India’s vision of becoming a global leader in defence manufacturing and maritime security.”
The situation in the Indian Ocean region is challenging with the Chinese navy, India’s main rival, growing exponentially, said Rahul Bedi, a defence analyst.
Mr Bedi said that the INS Vagsheer submarine, the sixth among a French licence-built Kalvari (Scorpene)-class conventional diesel-electric submarines, is aimed at replacing aging Indian underwater platforms and plugging serious capability gaps in existing ones. India now has a total of 16 submarines.
The P75 Scorpene submarine project represents India’s growing expertise in submarine construction in collaboration with the Naval Group of France, Mr Bedi said.
India’s defence ministry is expected to conclude a deal for three additional Scorpene submarines to be built in India during Mr Modi’s likely visit to Paris next month to attend the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron.
However, the first of these boats, according to the Indian navy, is only likely to be commissioned by 2031.
India commissioned its first home-built aircraft carrier in 2022 to counter regional rival China’s much more extensive and growing fleet and expand its indigenous shipbuilding capabilities.
The INS Vikrant, whose name is a Sanskrit word for “powerful” or “courageous,” is India’s second operational aircraft carrier. It joins the Soviet-era INS Vikramaditya, which India purchased from Russia in 2004 to defend the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal.
